


Public Heroes

by orphan_account



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Tragedy, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), Original Character(s), Original Witches, Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 17:12:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6965935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Homura Akemi needs to try something different, she needs more grief seeds. The nearest large city is New York, which holds many public superheroes. Most magical girls loathe these heroes, as they do not have soul gems to keep clean. When Homura Akemi saves a woman from a gunman kissed by a witch, she attracts the prying eyes of many organizations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Public Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> Woah, this idea came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, I had 5k words! I am so excited to be writing this, so let's start off with a bang!

Homura Akemi was searching for a new witch. She had already determined the purpose of this time line. It was to search for more grief seeds, for backup of course. Maybe having more grief seeds was the key to helping everyone stay alive for Walpurgisnacht. The raven haired Magical Girl knew it was coming, the day she wouldn't be able to postpone her grief was quickly advancing. It could take something as simple as Madoka being cruelly killed, or something as innocent as Madoka telling Homura to give up and stop suffering. Her grief was contained by a wall as thin and see through as glass. In one time line, when she hadn't the idea for an emotional mask, a nurse had seen the look on her face and immediately took her in for a psych evaluation. To be honest, the nurse's concern was a bother, and a waste of Homura's time.

 

Normally, Magical Girls stayed far away from cities where public heroes were known to reside. Most of the public heroes, like that man in an iron suit, were unaware of the tragic circumstances faced by a rare amount of youth. Most wanted it to remain that way, and its not like the public heroes really cared either, they were just missing girls, not terrorists or anything. Sure, some had made a connection with how similar the circumstances of missing persons cases, but those were dismissed as conspiracy. It made Homura upset, to know that were people who had extraordinary powers without having to fight witches and give up their soul in progress.

 

She felt that feeling, the indescribable presence in her abdomen and by extension, soul gem. It was disgusting, to know she was this weak, to feel grief from simply loathing those more fortunate than her. The scream was building up in her throat, and honestly, she didn't want to hold it back. For once in her life, she wanted to be free from that iron mask and let the grief spill out onto the floor. But she restrained herself from pursuing that fantasy, Homura wasn't going to waste her wish.

 

People were staring at her, the old man to her left was staring at her annoyingly, and the woman to her right looked too concerned. Praying that they wouldn't bother her, Homura went to sit down, staring out the window. Concrete walls stained with mildew, moisture and filth speed past her, and it felt fitting for a girl like Homura. All she was was a stain on the walls of time, and she'd be cleaned off eventually. Homura considered slapping herself, she had to stop the self pity. Maybe therapy would actually be useful for a change.

 

There was an advertisement on the ceiling of the cabin, it was a single white telephone with the phrase 'Talk', followed by a phone number. She amused the thought of calling them and explaining her situation, which would most certainly put her in a white padded room. Therapists were off limits. She'd just do what she always did, and focus on saving her friends, but they probably didn't know she even existed in this time. Regardless, Homura did it for the girls she knew; for the Madoka she knew.

 

A beeping droned out into the air. This was Homura's stop. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but Akemi was searching for a witch. Before she came, only a small amount of research had been done. There weren't really that many random suicides, but random attacks and violence were common. The public heroes dealt with this easily though, but never really questioned why it occurred so commonly.

 

Once again, people stared, but probably only because Homura Akemi was still wearing her hospital gown. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that school was in session, and Homura wasn't. As she turned a corner, a crowed became present. Faces of all kinds filed through the turnstiles, each creating sounds similar to that of a checkout as they passed through. Homura fished around in her nightgown for her ticket, her hands coming purchase to the wrinkled piece of paper.

 

She feed it into the machine and was allowed access out of the station. It was weird, because she easily had the ability to pass, even without her powers. Although, there were probably guards present to prevent hopping, but she was too lazy to look for them. A man wearing an official looking outfit spotted her from the crowd, hurriedly approaching. Homura was faster, knowing what would happen if the man caught up with her. A sign told her that there was a shopping outlet nearby, hopefully one with clothes that fit. There was no need to attract more attention.

 

(> \- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 - <)

 

Her shoplifting went unpunished. It was easy to steal things when you could stop time. Homura could have taken something more stylish, but she went for the first thing she spotted and prayed it would fit. Its not like she had the extra magic to waste. Homura didn't even know if there were any witches in New York.

 

This city was different than Mitakihara. Mitakihara was a city bound on innovation, but this place was the city of business, the city that never sleeps. These people were different, and couldn't afford suicide. Anger and frustration built up from too long shifts were easily manipulated by witches, so Homura was sure she'd find one soon. Even if the intelligent Magical Girls stayed far away from cities like New York, there would always be the stupid ones. This city was likely to have them, given the image portrayed by the public heroes.

 

Homura had no idea she had smashed the ice cream cone until she felt the cold sticky fluid drip down her fingers. The only reason she had bought it, was for her costume of innocence, which had surely been broken. Most ignored the girl with who squished her ice cream cone with a serious look on her face, but some stared. Sighing, Homura threw the cone to the floor, hoping the rats would get some use from it.

 

Her blank face stood unwavering as she walked through the crowded streets, and people bumped into her. Homura ignored the insults as she swam against the stream of people, originally expecting people to get out of her way. Yes, this city was definitely different than Mitakihara. The serious look on her face intimidated no-one, not even enough for somebody to get out of her way. At least she wouldn't be attracting too much attention.

 

(> \- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 - <)

 

The bubbly feeling in her soul gem alerted Homura to the presence of a witch. As she had done dozens of times before, Homura scanned the necks of everyone around her for a kiss. There were none that she could see. Instead of a kiss, she searched for somebody with that violent look in their eyes, which would be useful for those facing her. Analyzing eyes scanned the crowd, her search ending upon a man wearing a business suit. His eyes were empty, and Homura could feel the witch's kiss now that she knew a possible target. It was easy to find a faint smell of if you knew where to sniff.

 

A line of children walked past her, hand in hand as they strolled merrily along. A class of children, and an unpredictable man under the influence of a witch. Slowly, Homura approached the man standing in front of an ornate fountain. Suddenly, as if out of reaction, the man reached into his pocket, revealing a gun to the crowd. It was held by shaky fingers, and only for a moment, before people began screaming. Instead of the children, the gun was aimed at a woman. She had very light brownish blonde hair, and wore business attire, but of much higher quality than everyone around her.

 

Homura quickly reached into her chest and grabbed her soul gem before transforming. She shifted the hour glass on her shield, which caused time to stop just as the bullet left its chamber. Homura swiftly weaved through the crowd, ignoring the faces of panic on everyone around her. When she grabbed the arm of the woman, the brunette regained motion, only to scream out a shrill shriek. Akemi's stern but strong hands guided the confused and panicking woman out of harms way.

  
“W-what's y-y-your name?” The woman had attempted to speak through her sobs, and Homura glanced at her, not responding. Their hands left each other and the woman became motionless once more. The bullet was on a straight path to the concrete wall behind where the woman once stood.

 

With time frozen around her, the Magical Girl approached the man. She outstretched the hand decorated by her soul gem, and waved it over the the kiss. The kiss was shaped like a blood stained gold coin, and disappeared quickly under the influence of Homura's magic.

 

Time resumed, and so did the shrill screaming. The screaming eventually came to a stop, and people were finally paying attention to the girl who had suddenly appeared next to the attacker, in a strange outfit with a shield. Homura walked quickly away from the scene, following the scent of the witch while carefully looking for that same kiss. Her pace quickened as she heard the sound of police sirens.

 

(> \- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 - <)

 

Tony stark was in the middle of binge watching a television series when JARVIS interrupted. He had recently programmed a surveillance program that tapped into social media and security feeds to detect the enhanced. It was important to have a database of all these people due to the possibility of powers being used for evil. Most importantly though, Tony felt the Avengers team was too small, and there needed to be an actual department specializing in training and enlisting the enhanced. This was a notification from that program, and Tony quickly opened it.

 

Jarvis brought up her profile. Her name was Homura Akemi, which was normal considering the girl had been born in Mitakihara. Currently, Japanese names were a trend there. She was just past thirteen, and her parents were business executives, meaning they probably weren't around much. According to Homura's medical records, she was currently hospitalized due to heart problems, which usually left her physically weak. Akemi had yet to be discharged, and had been reported missing from the premises.

 

This girl had no social media presence, which was weird considering her age. Regardless, Tony swiped past her physical profile and into the video proof.

 

“Homura Akemi appears to be able to teleport while also being able to manipulate the brain. In the following video, she changes her outfit before teleporting and calming down the attacker with a wave of her hand. Homura Akemi also uses her teleportation or super speed to move a civilian out of harms way.”

 

Tony watched as the costumed girl practically shifted her position instantly to the man with a gun, while simultaneously being able to save the woman. It was impressive, as the girl was so young, yet so calm. It was unnerving in a way to see the blank expression on her face, which had held up even on her walk away from the scene.

 

“Jarvis, do we have any possible source for her abilities?”

 

The computer program began analyzing and scanning the video for constants in form and shape, but Tony noticed it before the computer. There was a violet gem retrieved from somewhere, which led her to transform her clothing. Maybe it was battle armor or something, but he wouldn't judge for wanting a cool suit. While in her suit, there was a violet gem in the shape of a diamond on her hand, it was exactly the same color as the original egg shaped one, and was probably just a different form. Perhaps it was similar in nature to the one in Loki's scepter.

 

“I believe the source of her power comes from the gemstone retrieved from a pocket dimension in her chest. Its impossible for me to tell any more about it, and it would be wise to track her down. If there are more of these gems available, I estimate it could be quite dangerous if they fell into the wrong hands.”

 

The idea of interrogating a fourteen year old wasn't something that excited him, but it needed to be done, and that much was obvious. He spoke his command to JARVIS, with an amused tone.

 

“Find me this girl, and send widow to retrieve her as peacefully as possible.”

 

(> \- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 - <)

 

Natasha was waiting in line when the text arrive. She ignored it at first, because it was possible the text was a request for her to do something trivial, and she had been in line with her clothing for too long. There was absolutely no way she was giving up her spot just because Tony wanted insider information about the development of an upcoming video game. It was a waste of her time and effort in the reconnaissance field, but as she read the text, this was something her skills would actually be useful for.

 

_**T. Stark** : I need you to bring in this girl peacefully, follow her location on the hashtag #VioletWaitress. Sometimes, I love how much free time millennial have. Be careful, she is an enhanced with powers of teleportation and possibly some sort of brainwashing thing._

 

While normally an enhanced would make her on edge, as it hadn't been in her training, Natasha had learned to adapt. Everybody had a weakness, even Thor, but she had just yet to find it. Looking around her for a spot to place her jeans, she sighed and exited the line, tossing the unfolded clothing onto a rack.

 

Natasha did some quick online recon on her way out of the mall. This girl was young, probably twelve to fifteen, and had saved a young woman from a gunman. Her real name was Homura Akemi People were already giving her a nickname, and it was The Violet Waitress. It made her angry that these people were pressing a girl to be something for them, something that would put her into unnecessarily dangerous situations. Maybe she was only upset due to her past, yes, that was probably it.

 

Shifting off the feeling of anger, Natasha tracked the locations of her sightings. This girl was new to the city, as she appeared to be heading for a certain place, yet was taking the longest and busiest routes. It was disheartening to see how quickly the internet was eating the girl up. Had people really nothing better to do? The redhead predicted the girl's final location and was speeding her way to that place. Stealing a bike was the least of her concerns, but she still left a note telling them to call Stark's Lawyers.

 

(> \- 0 - <)

 

Natasha had been waiting roughly twenty-five minutes before she caught sight of the girl. Homura was wearing a normal outfit, instead of the one she had been in before. The girl ducked around a corner, and into an alleyway. Natasha followed her into the alleyway, sneakily yet hastily at the same time. This felt wrong, and that dark feeling in her stomach grew heavy and possessive, she consciously ignored it. Was this this some part of the girl's enhancement, her ability to manipulate emotions like she had done to the man?

 

She had to be closing in on the girl, the footsteps beating down ahead of her were staying the same pace, so if Natasha simply sped up, Homura would be easy to catch up to. Dirty air slipped past her face and through her red curls as the Widow gave chase. Now she saw locks of dark hair whip around another corner, Homura wasn't speeding up, as if something was known to her that would giver her the upper hand. Teleportation, the realization was shocking yet intriguing. Why hadn't the girl teleported away? It either meant she wasn't just running from Natasha, and was going towards her destination, or that this girl really had no powers.

 

Natasha turned one more corner before she came upon Homura, who stood and stared at the wall. The redhead was the only one breathing deeply- almost panting- from the exertion. The raven haired girl turned around, a blank expression on her face.

 

Homura flipped her hair.

 

“Don't try following me this time, I won't be able to protect you. I don't know who you are, but regardless of your powers, they are useless against what I'm about to fight.”

 

Those words were troubling, but Natasha made no attempts at understanding them. It was annoying how melodramatic some people could be, but Homura did not seem to be that. She spoke with a neutral tone that suggested indifference, it seemed as if the girl was just telling it like it is, a sad truth. Homura wasn't trying to insult her either, and was just pointing out the truth. Its not like Natasha had any powers to be defensive about anyway.

 

“I don't have powers anyway..... But you don't have to be alone, we can fight whatever this is together”

 

Why was Natasha comforting the girl? Maybe it was because of the scared face she saw behind that familiar mask. It was the mask worn by Natasha every day before being recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D, a mask of maturity and indifference. While the mask was smooth porcelain on the outside, it was rusty nails on the inside, which dug deeper and deeper into your skin the longer you wore it. Homura Akemi had been wearing this mask for a long time.

 

“Tch, fine, but I'm telling you now not to follow me. If you really want to help me, stay out here and wait until I finish. You'd be a distraction and a liability to me if you follow.”

 

It was difficult not to take that as an insult, but Natasha had learned through her trainer to hide minute facial reactions. Instead of raising an eyebrow, she simply nodded and watched as the girl reached over- no- inside her chest to retrieve a violet gem trimmed with gold. It glowed brightly. She didn't bother.

 

The gem was beautiful, like a Faberge egg. She had stole a few before, but these were different. The glow was fascinating and whimsical, like nothing she had ever seen before. As quickly as the gem had appeared, Homura had done something and was now surrounding herself with turning gears. Natasha could only watch in admiration at the beautiful scene playing out before her. In some areas, the gears tightened around Homura's chest and then bust into pieces, revealing the tailcoat part of her costume. This continued until she was fully dressed and ready for battle, with a shield on her wrist.

 

“I don't know what to say about that, except it was beautiful. I used to be a ballet dancer, and I've only recognized that amount of grace a handful of times.”

 

Homura nodded, and almost cracked a shy smile at the compliment. Natasha could tell the girl wanted to smile and thank her. Instead of breaking her porcelain mask of emotion, the wearer turned to walk towards a far wall after a hair flip. Her jewel decorate hand reached for the wall, but it stopped, and the girl turned to look at the redhead..

 

“Tell me who you really are, and what training you have. It's unlikely, but you could potentially be my backup measure if I fall in battle.”

 

Natasha cracked a wry smile. The Black Widow trusted this girl, and for some reason, which was probably really stupid, she told her everything. Maybe it was the lost look behind the mask, the one that showed she had nobody to really rely on. Whatever it was, was effective, and Natasha needed to start taking notes so she could use whatever this tactic was in the future. She paused, smile fading at a sudden realization. Homura had probably used her enhancement to make the Black Widow spill the beans.

 

“You used your enhancements on me to control my emotions, right?”

 

Homura shook her head.

 

“If that was my power, then I'd have most certainly perished. What I am about to fight was controlling that man. Given your past history, I believe you'd most certainly be able to handle yourself within the labyrinth. Here give me your weapon, it wont work on the witch if I don't enchant it.”

 

It was relieving in a way, to know that this girl wasn't playing with her emotions. She had doubted her ability to do that as soon as Natasha saw the girl. Homura hadn't the air of a spy, but instead, one of a sole warrior. Normally, the redhead would never trust a young teenager with a gun, but this girl didn't seem young. She seemed far too mature for her age, it was quite saddening. Un-holstering the gun from her belt, she handed it to the girl, who took it with a hand glowing with a purple aura.

 

Homura did something, of which Natasha had no prior knowledge of, and handed it back. The girl then proceeded to explain the process.

 

“Normal weapons don't even scratch what I'm fighting, the witches. I'm infusing my energy into your pistol. This will let you cause harm to the witch, but don't waste bullets. They're infinite, but each one uses a bit of my magic, and if I lose all of my magic, its game over and we both die. They won't find our bodies.”

 

Natasha was horrified, but not entirely surprised. Nick had briefed her on many strange things, such as that god from the sky, and other enhanced individuals. If a god could visit earth, well than so could witches. That last part about her losing her magic and their bodies never being found, how did that girl know about those things? Does this mean there were more girls like here, and if so, what exactly has this girl seen? Natasha wanted to hug this girl, it all seemed too much for a fourteen year old to handle, but Natasha knew from experience that the younger ones were rarely spared.

 

“I have your back, you don't have to worry about me.”

 

Homura paused again, the redhead could tell her words caused a crack in the porcelain mask. Natasha wouldn't break it completely though, because perhaps the girl was emotionally guarded for a good reason.

 

The raven haired girl flipped her hair once more, before explaining her plan of action.

 

“This witch is new to me, meaning I don't know what it does. It could be very easy, or the hardest one in my life. The inside will look surreal, like nothing you've ever seen before. Don't trust anything, and if something comes towards you, shoot it. Stay behind my back and listen to me, even if what i'm saying seems to be wrong. If the witch seems dead, don't relax until the labyrinth disappears. Don't worry about depleting my magic, I'm experienced enough so that it won't happen unless you use it unnecessarily.”

 

This sounded dangerous, too dangerous for a fourteen year old girl. But Homura knew more than her, and it sounded as if this girl was a veteran at killing witches. Why would she put herself in that danger though, Homura didn't seem like the person who would want to be a hero, so why? Natasha sighed before approaching the girl, inspecting the shield on her arm. She doubted it was an effective weapon, but yet again, there was Captain America.

 

The Black Widow was on guard while Homura waved her jeweled hand over the wall, and the symbol of a green bill appeared and shimmered bright green. The symbol had a weird language for its quantity and text, while the center where you'd normally find an old person was filled with a heart. It was certainly strange, and while Natasha thought she'd be prepared for whatever lay inside, she wasn't.

 

(> \- 0 - <)

 

Homura scanned the room as soon as she entered the barrier. It appeared to be a bank of sorts, with loose gold coins laying around everywhere. She picked on up, inspecting the text. It was indecipherable, and the image of a human heart was no hint as to what lay within. The magical girl reached into her shield and produced a pistol. Natasha was behind her, and as wide-eyed as ever. Homura would have laughed if this situation wasn't so serious.

 

Natasha groaned as she stepped in a pool of metallic red, blood. It wasn't real blood though, but simply a part of the barrier.

 

The hallways the continued down had red carpeting, along with those green lamps normally found in a library. Homura continued down the labyrinth of hallways with her pistol aimed and ready to fire. There was a broken glass jar near her feet, it was filled with a dark murky liquid. She was attentive to detail, as remembering everything about this witch was crucial for future endeavors. The duo rounded another corridor, but quickly shrunk back as they both heard a noise.

 

It was some sort of yelling, in the language of despair; it was a familiar, a servant to their witch. Homura peeked around the corner. A mass of flesh colored clay was wearing an impossibly white lab coat, which was quite a feat, considering the amount of blood that seemingly oozed from every crack. The familiar also wore a ball cap with a tool belt around its waste. Gender was hard to apply to a faceless blob of flesh. It was a mechanic of some kind, and was arguing with what appeared to be a mound of flesh dressed as a bouncer; another familiar. The bouncer pointed to a rusty height scale, before back at the mechanic. The red line on the scale was higher than that of the mechanic's height, who was promptly denied access to a door labeled with a bio-hazard sticker.

 

Homura glanced back at Natasha, who had a disgusted yet scared expression on her face. It didn't suit her well at all.

 

The mechanic let out a groan, before turning and walking in their direction. Homura grabbed the redhead's hand to run in the opposite direction, and just as they were about to turn a corner, they both heard stamping feet. With dread, the magical girl turned around to see the mechanic staring at her, and she somehow felt eye contact even when the biomass had no eyes. Natasha was the first to react, quickly shooting the thing, gagging as false blood splattered on the walls around them.

 

“ I've never seen one this gross, normally, they're just surreal.”

 

The redhead made a grunt of acknowledgment before following Homura Akemi down a different hallway. Even though it was a completely different hall, it still had a metal bio-hazard door guarded by a fleshy bouncer. The bouncer was easily taken down by Homura's gunshot between the eyes, while false blood and flesh colored clay splattered everywhere. but she was still careful as they approached the door, fearing the familiar would suddenly return to life.

 

The door required both Natasha's and Homura's strength to pry open, both jumped back from the golden coins that spilled out. Homura pointed inside the door, where hospital curtains lay shielding something which rested on a mound of coins, each of a varying size. Homura could feel the despair from the witch, it wasn't intense enough to pose a threat, but not a minor one either.

 

“Behind the curtain is a witch, and it doesn't know we're here yet.”

 

Homura crept into the large operating room, but stealth was pretty much impossible due to her having the climb through the coins that were progressively bigger with their proximity to the curtain. At least it would be easy to navigate the terrain when she needed to get up close to the witch.

 

As soon as Natasha entered the room, the metal door slammed shut behind her, sending golden coins everywhere. They pelted the backs of their heads, but the coins were surprisingly light so it was more of an annoyance than actual pain.

 

“It knows we're here!”

 

A disturbingly pained wail drenched the air around them with sorrow. The curtains were cast aside quickly as the witch was revealed to both of them. A giant glass jar rested atop a hospital bed, and inside, was a large anatomically correct heart. The corked jar wore a large yellow sunhat, brimmed with a white ribbon studded by coins.

 

The clay heart inside the jar was beating frantically at their presence, pumping out that syrupy fake blood. The jar was filling quickly as the witch sprayed out the substance through its aortae, and Homura was cautious, she had no idea what this creature was doing. Natasha held her weapon up defensively as the jar continued to fill. The liquid had covered the heart after a few minutes of them standing with their weapons drawn. Yet the liquid was still rising, a stream of bubbles having been created.

 

Homura knew only of what was happening as webs of cracks spread around the glass. Natasha gasped, also realizing what was about to happen. After dozens upon dozens of times of killing The Dessert Witch, Homura had known what to do if anything ever surprised her. She flicked her shield back and grabbed Natasha's hand as glass shards flew out into the air, time freezing instantly.

 

The shards of glass were suspended in the air, forming a burst around the viscous red liquid which followed suit. It could have been considered beautiful to see glass and blood suspended in time like that, but Homura had no time to admire.

 

Instead, she turned to Natasha, who honestly already looked tired of the endeavor, but still ready to put up a fight. It reminded Homura of a less friendly Mami Tomoe, and it made her heart ache with sadness. That blonde magical girl was probably dead by now, but it didn't matter, this time line was only for informational progress.

 

“Quick! We need to find a coin large enough to shield the both of us, but don't let go of my hand, or you'll be frozen too.”

 

Their sights locked on a coin in the distance. Homura swiftly ran over to it, tightening the grip of her hands on Natasha's. Countless battles and training made both of them very agile and nimble, which made navigating sea of coins easy. Once they had grabbed their make-do shield, Homura led the redhead back further from the witch. The strain on her soul gem was becoming quite painful, so the magical girl stood the coin up in front of them and let time run again.

 

A sickening we thud rang out as the liquid splashed everywhere against the walls. They both were thankful for their shield as they soon heard a sizzling after the liquid came into contact with the material used for the walls. The beating of the heart was audible now, which made the erratic and rhythm-less thumping much more unsettling.

 

“I need to stay behind the shield until I can use my powers again, stay with me.”

 

Natasha nodded, silently agreeing to their plan. The redhead was panting heavily, moreso with panic than exertion. Luckily, the strain on her soul gem was always temporary and resolved itself within moments. The beating stopped, and Homura Akemi glanced up to see what had happened, which was her mistake.

 

The witch took this moment to strike, sending out a highly pressurized stream of fluid towards them. Homura instantly pushed Natasha quite a distance away before ducking back under the coin. More fluid than she'd like had splattered over the shield, and was now burning at the skin on her left leg and most of her right arm. Homura ignored the pain and shocked expression of the redhead, who quickly got back to her feet.

 

“I'm fine, I'll heal myself later. Don't let it get on you, its corrosive.” Her voice was calm, eerily so.

 

Natasha did as told, and rolled away from another burst, firing a few shots into the heart, from which jets of liquid sprayed. Homura was impressed at the redhead's capabilities. Any normal human would have likely died at this point.

 

Homura twisted her shield and time stopped once more, this time for Natasha too/ From her shield, she produced a missile launcher. At least now she knew that explosives were a better idea than bullets, the latter only creating more liquid for them to dodge. Her index finger pushed the trigger as the missile propelled itself towards the frozen heart. Homura slowed the projectile before it could reach the heart. This was repeated as many times as her freeze would allow, until she felt the familiar strain at her gem.

 

The magical girl grabbed another large coin to shield herself as time resumed. Explosions and smoke quickly filled the air, along with sounds of splattering clay and liquid. The air was too smokey to see what had happened to Natasha. Homura hoped the Black Widow had survived, but she'd be alive when the time line was reset anyway.

 

As the smoke cleared and the labyrinth faded from around them, Homura could make out that Natasha had managed to crawl her lithe form under a coin. A black gem gilded with silver floated down onto the floor, making that satisfying ping as it hit the concrete of the alleyway.

 

(> -~~~~~~~~- <)

 

**Witch Profile:** Imelda

 

The Heart Witch

 

**Nature:** Selfish

 

Blinded by the inability of herself and others, Imelda stole herself from those deserving and sealed herself off in a jar. She was content, until she realized she was broken, and bleeding. Imedla searched for the greatest fixers of them all, none of which pass her high standards. The only option she has left is money, of which she has yet to realize will not fix her leaks. One can easily defeat Imelda by bringing her any fixer at all.

 

**Familiars:**

 

**Carrel:**

 

**Duty:** To fix

 

The Carrel knows what's best for their mistress, and posses the one simple step to fixing her leaks. They aren't good enough for their mistress, nor strong enough to pass the Boykin who block them.

 

**Boykin:**

 

**Duty:** To protect

 

The Boykin have received strict orders to not allow the incompetent Carrel to pass, and will never let one pass, lest they hurt her with their inability.

 

 


End file.
